The best part of my day
by bubblysage
Summary: Kaito was not having a good day. All he wanted was to find a nice gift for Shinichi, instead he opened up pandora's box mislabeled as "Self-doubt: 101 reasons why I don't deserve Shinichi". Of course Shinichi was having none of it.


Kaito was not having a good day.

First, he woke up late. For a meticulous planner such as himself, he always made sure to wake up earlier than his alarm. Today though, he had to be shaken awake by Shinichi–which could only mean that it was late. He remembered how he kicked off the covers in a panic and scrambled for the bathroom, and barely registered the look of surprise and amusement on Shinichi's face.

Then at work, he had to contend with the mountain of paperwork piled on his desk, which accumulated because instead of staying behind like he usually did on most days, he left early the previous day for an errand.

Kaito groaned as he sank on his chair, as he valiantly tried to push away the memories of the previous day.

"My, my," a cool voice came from behind which nearly caused Kaito to shriek in surprise. "Day's just beginning and you're already depressed?" Hakuba Saguru sidled up and dropped a nondescript paper bag on Kaito's desk. "You're welcome." Before Kaito could reply, Hakuba turned around and walked away.

He didn't have to check to know that inside the paper bag would be a bagel sandwich likely purchased from the small café a few blocks away. The thought of food made Kaito's stomach grumble–because he overslept and messed up his routine, he skipped breakfast this morning. He groaned as he remembered the smell of bacon on his way out the door. _Shinichi makes them extra crunchy just the way I like it too._

"You know sometimes I wonder whether Hakuba has a thing for you, or if he's secretly trying to poison you." Kaito was startled, for the second time that day, with the sudden voice near his ear. Before he could reply, the owner of the voice moved forward and started pawing through the paper bag. "He brings you the same sandwich every day. I swear, it's the weirdest shit."

Before Kaito could reply, another voice piped up from across the room. "Oi, Nakamori, those files you requested from the second division just arrived. Let's go, the Chief's waiting for these!" He watched wordlessly as Nakamori Aoko dropped the paper bag hurriedly and then dashed towards the other side of the room.

Kaito sat there on his chair blinking owlishly for a few seconds, wondering if anyone else was going to disturb his morning. After a few seconds, he deemed it safe to actually start his day. He pulled a side drawer open to deposit the paper bag–he planned to eat it later–and straightened up so he could get a head start on some of the files on his desk, only to be startled by the sight of Koizumi Akako perched on his table.

"Twitchy this morning, aren't we, Kaito?"

Kaito exhaled and willed his heartbeat to slow down. He wanted to blame the coffee but he realized he hadn't even gotten a cup yet. Leaving early today was starting to sound like a really good idea. He opened his mouth to tell off Akako when a package was thrust to his face.

"This came for you earlier."

_Oh!_

Kaito immediately recognized the package–the dimensions alone were quite telling–and unknown to him, his face lit up like a kid in a toy store on their birthday. Unfortunately for him, he forgot who he was dealing with. As his hands made to grab the package, Akako pulled them back out of reach.

"I wonder what this is," Akako smirked at the brief look of irritation that crossed Kaito's face. She turned the package over in her hand several times, inspecting it in an attempt to guess what was inside.

Without warning, Kaito snatched the package from her hands and then deposited it into the drawer containing his uneaten sandwich. He slammed the drawer shut, and hoped it sent the signal to Akako to leave. Of course, the witch was unaffected.

"Tut tut," She swung her leg on the side of his desk and a nerve ticked on Kaito's temple. "You obviously need some vacation time. You look really stressed Kaito."

Kaito has imagined many times strangling certain irritating people in his life. Or tying them up and duct-taping their mouth. But he reminded himself that he is a police officer–and most importantly, that murder is a capital offense punishable by death where he lived–which often worked to prevent him from acting on such impulses. Kaito took a deep breath and prepared to tell Akako off. But before he could utter a single word, Akako bounced away from his desk and walked away without another word.

Seconds ticked by as Kaito remained motionless. He felt as if he was stuck in some weird B-class movie starring all his worst nightmares. After a few moments, he finally decided to snap out of it and get to work. He had no sooner pulled open his desk drawer for a pen when a sheaf of papers landed on his desk.

The ticking nerve on his temple intensified and Kaito had had enough. He slammed his hands on the table as he stood. "GO AWAY AND LET ME DO MY FUCKING JOB!"

Kaito looked up and stared at the stunned face of the Metropolitan Police Chief. It was then Kaito realized that if there was a God, it was definitely enjoying making a fool of him.

"Well," Chief Akai said after a few moments of silence, during which time the other people nearby had stopped what they were doing to stare at Kaito. "I'm always impressed at your enthusiasm for the job Kaito but take a break every now and then, yea? You're too young to be that highly-strung."

"Yes," Kaito's voice squeaked and he had to clear his throat before he could continue. "Yes, Chief. Absolutely."

The Chief regarded him briefly and then pointed to the papers on his desk. "Those are the files on the Night Baron; after you've had some time to get through them, come see me in my office."

Kaito nodded, not trusting his voice to not betray him once more. He watched the Chief walk away and then he sat back down and put his head on the desk. Maybe, he thought, maybe harakiri wasn't such a bad idea after all.

He had barely lifted his head from the desk when Hakuba strolled by again.

"Lunch?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to refuse. The urge to deny Hakuba any sort of pleasure–especially since Kaito was sure it was Hakuba that started the series of abysmal luck he had to endure that morning–was so strong that he could taste it. Then his stomach grumbled and Kaito realized he might as well give in and eat.

"You know what? Why the hell not?" Kaito opened his side drawer and grabbed the paper bag. He eyed it suspiciously for a second and wondered whether it was what brought the bad luck after all, and whether he should've disposed of it earlier. _Great, I am blaming my problems on an innocent, defenseless sandwich!_

Kaito heaved a great sigh and willed the bad vibes to disappear. Thankfully, Hakuba had the tact to remain silent as they started walking towards the small office pantry. Kaito started to feel better with each step and he started to think the rest of his day might go well after all.

They had just turned a corner when Hakuba asked, "By the way, what was with you shouting at the Chief this morning? Really, Kaito, it's a miracle you haven't gotten yourself fired."

xxx

Shinichi knew something was up when he arrived home that evening.

For one, there were noises coming from the direction of the kitchen—a pot banged against the stove, a drawer opened and silverware clanged against each other, the sound of something being chopped—and Shinichi deduced that Kaito must be attempting to cook.

Which led to the second point, Kaito was attempting to cook.

Shinichi blanched. "Well, at least nothing seems to be burning," he muttered to himself. He sniffed the air for signs of burnt food and heaved a relieved sigh when there were none.

"Kaito," he called out tentatively; he put his bag down on a nearby table and hung his coat by the rack. "Is that you I hear in the kitchen?"

The noises suddenly stopped and was replaced by some creative curses. Shinichi stifled his laughter. It would seem that he threw a wrench on Kaito's plans by arriving early; he was supposed to have a meeting with some colleagues, but it was cancelled at the last minute and Shinichi decided to head straight home.

He stepped into the kitchen and his senses were assaulted with about ten thousand different things at once. "What—What happened here?"

Two pots were bubbling with something on the stove, several more were on the sink, the table was littered with all sorts of things—bottles, ingredients, cutlery—and Kaito was standing in the midst of it all: apron slightly askew and messy with several unidentifiable stains.

The entire scene was hilarious enough, but the absolute gobsmacked look on Kaito's face, complemented by a dusting of flour across one cheek, added a whole 'nother layer of hilarity. Unable to contain himself, Shinichi burst out laughing. This earned him a huff from Kaito, who slammed the metal bowl he was holding down on the table. Shinichi was sure Kaito was about to yell at him when his nose caught a whiff of something burning.

"Hey, Kaito, I smell something burning—"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when the smoke detector blared to life, filling their small apartment with loud, incessant beeping sounds.

Kaito cursed before he bent down to pull something out of the oven. Shinichi hurried over to crack open a window to let the smoke out. He turned around and watched Kaito dump a now-blackened tray into the sink and open the tap to run water on it. Shinichi opened his mouth to say something when they heard several knocks on their door.

"That's probably our landlord, I'll go and talk to them." Shinichi tried to be as gentle as he could, and felt bad at the defeated look on Kaito's face. "Why don't you change and then order in something for dinner instead?"

"Fine," Kaito sullenly closed the tap before undoing the strings on his apron.

Shinichi wanted to comfort Kaito but the knocks became more insistent followed by the unmistakable voice of their landlord.

"You had better get that," Kaito sighed and then gave Shinichi a lopsided grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Sorry for making a mess Shinichi."

Kaito exited the kitchen and Shinichi watched him enter their bedroom. With a sigh, he pushed off the wall to talk to their landlord, silently vowing to find a way to lift up Kaito's mood that evening.

xxx

"The look on Hattori's face when I told him was priceless!"

Kaito watched Shinichi's animated face, enjoying the laughter that bubbled out of Shinichi as he recalled the events at his workplace earlier that day. They had just finished dinner, which thankfully passed without any further incident. Kaito was exhausted; it had been a couple of bad days and he was grateful that they could at least enjoy dinner.

"Hey, you ok?" Kaito watched as Shinichi inclined his head to one side, and a tender emotion passed through him. Somehow, Shinichi always knew when he was having an off day.

"Ye–yeah," Kaito realized he must've been spacing out. "Yeah, I am." At Shinichi's continued inquisitive look, Kaito heaved a sigh and closed his eyes momentarily. "It's... just been a rough couple of days."

Shinichi nodded in acknowledgment. "Work?"

Kaito chuckled. "Not really, no." He grimaced as he recalled what happened at work earlier that day. Though he may complain about work sometimes, the truth is it's not really his work per se, but his interesting—and often meddlesome—colleagues.

"Oh, do you wanna talk about it?"

He recalled the events of the previous day and shook his head—he definitely didn't want to relive them to be quite honest. Not wishing for Shinichi to press further, Kaito changed the subject. "I'll be back, just a sec."

Then he stood up and went to retrieve the package, which he stowed safely inside their bedroom."Here, I got you something." He handed the package to Shinichi as he sat back down on the table.

Shinichi's brows furrowed though his eyes lit up with curiosity, "For me? What is it?"

"Open it."

Without another word, Shinichi took the gift and then tore the simple brown packaging down the middle. "It... it's a book?" Shinichi continued to tear away the packaging even as he turned it over in his hand. "No… an album?" When he had completely uncovered it, Shinichi looked back at him, waiting for Kaito to confirm his question.

Kaito chuckled, "Just open it."

As soon as Shinichi lifted the cover, he gasped and ran his fingers down the page as if carressing it. He turned the pages slowly, and even paused longer on some, until he eventually reached the end.

Kaito watched him silently; his heart constricting as he enjoyed the play of emotions on Shinichi's face.

When Shinichi had turned the very last page, Kaito watched him inhale sharply, as if his breath hitched. Then Shinichi looked up at him, eyes slightly watery but full of emotions, as he bit on his lower lip.

"So I take it you like it?" Kaito knew the answer but he wanted to hear it anyway. Shinichi nodded vigorously, causing Kaito to break out into a huge smile. "Phew! Haha, I'm glad because—"

Unable to speak, Shinichi placed the book on the table and then launched himself towards Kaito. "I love it! I love it a lot!"

Surprised at the sudden hug, it was a few seconds before Kaito put his arms around Shinichi and hugged back. "Yea?" Kaito asked, voice muffled as he buried his face in the crook of Shinichi's neck.

Shinichi pulled back a bit and looked at Kaito lovingly. "It's wonderful, Kaito."

"I'm glad."

It was such a tender moment: Shinichi was looking at him with such love in his eyes that Kaito couldn't help himself. His hands reached up to wrap around Shinichi's nape and touch the hair curling at the base. Then he tugged and met Shinichi's lips with his own.

The kiss was gentle and soft. Kaito felt the weariness of the past few days melt away. He sighed and felt his pulse quickening as desire licked at his veins. He wanted more. His hands moved down to Shinichi's waist in an attempt to settle Shinichi more comfortably on his lap.

Before things could progress further though, Shinichi pulled back and said, "You have to tell me how you did it."

Kaito groaned. "Can I honestly not?" He moved in for another kiss but Shinichi moved away and back to his own seat. Kaito pouted.

"Ok now I'm honestly curious." With a chuckle, Shinichi prodded Kaito to tell him about the album.

The memory of meeting Shinichi's friends—the ones they don't have in common—resurfaced in Kaito's mind and unable to control his expression, he blanched.

"That bad?"

Kaito looked up to see Shinichi's eyes twinkling with mirth. He sighed, knowing Shinichi will likely get to the bottom of it one way or another.

"I, uh, I met your old friends… obviously because they're in the album…" Kaito began tentatively. He licked his lips—a habit of his whenever he felt nervous, that he had been trying to drop for years—and then reached for the book.

With a sigh, he opened it and started thumbing through the pages. "Mouri-san was very sweet." Kaito stared at the picture of Shinichi's ex-girlfriend-slash-childhood friend; he really didn't want to but it was preferable to the alternative of looking at Shinichi's face and seeing his expression. "She was the one who helped me reach out to the others."

Kaito flipped the page and chuckled despite himself. "These two, Hattori-san and Toyama-san, were hilarious. They bickered the entire time like an old married couple… which they are. Haha."

He made comments about the subject of the photo and the message they provided as he continued to flip through the album. "Sera-san seemed more excited at seeing Mouri-san than doing the interview and photo op."

Sometimes he would pause, not to remember the details of what happened, but because he would remember how he felt at the time. "Haibara-sensei was scary. I thought for a moment she wouldn't agree, but Ran convinced her."

Shinichi remained silent, for which Kaito was grateful: he didn't know how he would have continued otherwise. When he finally finished, Kaito closed the book and sighed once more. He momentarily closed his eyes as he tried to muster the courage to finally look up and face Shinichi.

"I'm sorry that we had to move so far away," was the only thing Kaito could say.

When Kaito got the idea to create an album for Shinichi, he was so excited to be doing something hand-made and special. Due to their busy schedule, they normally spent special occasions dining out; sometimes they would exchange gifts, but often those were store-bought.

One day in the office, Kaito's recently-wed colleague showed him their wedding album printed as a photobook. Kaito was immediately fascinated with the concept that he can have pictures laid out and printed in specialty paper. His mind started to whirr with the possibilities and by the end of the day, he had already filed for a vacation leave—he was off to visit Shinichi's hometown to gather messages from family and friends Shinichi left behind when they moved across the country.

"Don't be," Shinichi's voice broke Kaito out of his thoughts. "It was my choice, and I chose you."

The words pierced through his heart; and Kaito knew it should have been enough, but he had been feeling guilty ever since he made the trip. He only realized after spending a day—actually not even the entirety of an afternoon—the gravity of Shinichi's decision, and what he had to give up in order to be with Kaito.

He knew it should've somehow made him feel happy, but all he felt was an incredible sense of guilt.

"When we met in that bar, you remember?" Kaito chuckled nervously, afraid his voice would crack up. "It was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Shinichi gasped. "Jeez, will you stop being so awfully sweet! My poor heart can't take it anymore."

Kaito laughed. He knew Shinichi was trying to lighten the mood, and he was, yet again, grateful. "Well, it was. I know I told you a hundred times already, but I still couldn't believe it when you decided to follow me back here."

It was a story straight out of a romance novel: Kaito traveled to Shinichi's hometown for a two-week vacation, then they met one evening in a bar. They hit it off and spent the next two weeks getting to know each other better. When Kaito's vacation ended, Shinichi followed him back home.

"I told you, I had been thinking of moving; you simply provided me with a very good reason to do it sooner." Shinichi leaned forward and cupped Kaito's face in one hand. "Tell me what's really on your mind, Kaito."

It was the utmost sincerity with which the words were said that made Kaito want to break down and cry. Shinichi had always been the logical one between the two of them—likely due to being a forensics professor—that's why Kaito couldn't quite understand why he did what he did. "You had a good life there. I met all your friends and they were all so happy to talk about you. You had such a good life there, why did you give all that up?"

_For me_, Kaito wanted to say but couldn't.

Shinichi's features softened and his eyes flickered with an unknown emotion. His thumb caressed Kaito's cheek. "Because I love you."

It was Kaito's turn to soften at hearing those words. "Shinichi…"

"Is it really what I left behind that bothers you, or is it because you feel you are undeserving?"

Kaito opened his mouth to refute the statement but no words came out. He looked away, afraid Shinichi would see the truth in his eyes.

"I didn't really leave anything behind, Kaito," Shinichi said after a few moments of silence. "I keep in touch with most of them, and some of them visited over the holidays–remember I told you I was going off one afternoon to see some old friends?"

Kaito vaguely remembered hearing Shinichi talk about it and grimaced why he didn't make the connection.

"I wasn't lying when I told you I had been thinking of moving." Shinichi pulled away and settled into his chair. "When I met you in that bar, and you told me where you were from, I realized it must have been the sign I was looking for. Getting to know you better and falling in love with you sweetened the deal, but one way or another, I would've left my hometown at some point."

Kaito couldn't be sure whether Shinichi was just trying to make him feel better; though in the back of his mind, he knew Shinichi would never fabricate a story for him. The incredible sense of guilt still loomed over him, but Kaito knew there was no sense dwelling on it. At least for now.

He leaned forward and touched his forehead with Shinichi's. "Thank you... for choosing me."

xxx

Later that evening, after Shinichi gave Kaito his present—involving a pair of silk-wrapped handcuffs—and after they have thoroughly enjoyed said present, Shinichi laid on the bed contemplating their earlier conversation.

He never thought Kaito felt responsible for uprooting Shinichi from his hometown—though perhaps it only really surfaced recently, after Kaito's visit.

While Kaito may think that Shinichi gave up a lot to be with him, the truth was that Shinichi gained a whole lot more. Before he met Kaito, he was simply following the motions of daily life. Kaito breathed life into him, and Shinichi knew for the first time what he was meant to do.

Shinichi looked across the bed at a slumbering Kaito. He reached out and brushed Kaito's temple gently, so as not to awaken him. "You think I gave up a lot to be with you—and truthfully, I wouldn't mind doing that," Shinichi whispered in the near darkness. "But I never felt like I gave up anything. The truth is, I had wanted to be with you so badly, and I didn't want anyone to steal you away."

Then he leaned closer and planted a kiss on the side of Kaito's head. "If there's someone who's undeserving here, it's me." Shinichi admitted, heart pounding in the dark. "But I don't care because I love you; and as long as you want me to stay by your side, I will."

He snuggled closer to Kaito and closed his eyes. Perhaps he imagined it, but it felt like Kaito's arms tightened around him.


End file.
